Elevator systems include various types of fixtures for allowing passengers to provide an indication of a desired request for elevator service. Fixtures also provide feedback to the passengers regarding their requests. Traditionally, elevator system fixtures included hall call buttons allowing a passenger to request to be carried up or down from a building level where the passenger accesses the hall call button. Car operating panels have also been traditionally provided within elevator cars allowing passengers to make selections regarding a particular floor to which they desire to be carried.
More recently, destination entry systems have been employed. Such systems include destination entry devices that allow passengers to request to be carried to a particular destination before the passenger enters an elevator car. Destination entry fixtures typically provide a passenger with the ability to enter a request and provide feedback to the passenger to direct them to an appropriate elevator car, for example.
With advances in technology, building owners and elevator passengers have come to expect increasing capabilities from elevator fixtures. Additionally, advances in technology tend to make a particular configuration of an elevator fixture seem outdated within a relatively short period of time. A significant challenge is presented when attempting to update elevator system fixtures because each individual fixture has to have appropriate updates installed. It is not typically economically feasible to simply replace many destination entry type fixtures because each of them has its own processor and other components that render it economically unfeasible to make wholesale replacements of such devices.